Toasting with Ridgeview Merret Grosvenor 2004

Hurrah for Mark Cavendish who sprinted across the line to take the longest stage in the Tour de France today. A bit harsh on the breakaway who he sprinted past, but hurrah none the less.

Time for an English (yes I know he's Manx but you try growing grapes there) sparkling wine. A Ridgeview Merret Grosvenor 2004 which I bought last year when I drove through the Sussex countryside and saw a 'vineyard' sign. They gave me a few glasses of wine and let me wander around the vines taking nerdy photos.

It's a very good wine with a smooth mousse and distinct yeastiness which it's a cliche to call brioche. There's citrus too, but more grapefruit than lemon. It's one of England's more widely available sparklers as Waitrose do stock it when they can. The quality is unfortunately reflected in the price, expect to pay about ��22, more than your average grande marque Champagne in a supermarket, but it's worth a try to dismiss any thoughts about English wines being inferior.

Oh, and it's an excuse to post the picture I took of Cavendish winning a Tour of Britain stage again.

Twin Fin Chardonnay - An Australian Californian

When someone is heading out to the USA it's only polite to have a Californian wine to wish them 'Bon Voyage'. Twin Fin Chardonnay 2005 is cheerfully packaged in a summer holiday style, looking an awful lot like it's Australian wine.

It's a rich golden lemon colour with a creamy, toasty oakiness on the nose. It's off dry with enough acid to stop it being overly flabby. The oak dominates, tasting of sweet vanilla and buttered toast, although there is enough fruit lurking underneath to stop it feeling like a thwack on the side of the head with an oak plank. Melon and lemon jumble together in a cheerful way.

The full flavour is backed by quite a full body and 14% alcohol which does pack a punch. This is an excellent summer barbeque wine which will stand up to burnt food, lots of ice or even a shot of soda without losing its vibrancy. At around a fiver a bottle its a reliable party choice.

The Australian influence comes from the wine makers who came to California to make friendly Australian style wines. If they sell a lot of it in the US it will impact on yellowtail which is a similar style but with a lot more travel miles under its cap.

Quinta das Amoras - Fruit Salad

Sometimes a wine takes you surprise. Sometimes it's because it's a real treat, other times it's a big disappointment. Quinta das Amoras 2003 surprised us by being white. The bottle was thick and dark and the label oozed red-ness. Amoras means blackberry in Portugese so it wasn't a totally dopey mistake to make.

After pouring a smidge we chilled the rest quickly, but the room temperature taster was promising. It had a pronounced fruit salad aroma and tasted of sweet, ripe peaches, pears and lemons. Chilled it felt more balanced, drier and fresher. The peaches were still there but the other fruit became more pineapple like.

It took a little more brain adjustment than I expected to switch from red to white tasting thought patterns, it just felt strange. The list of grapes in the wine is pretty strange too, with chardonnay well down the list and the only variety I'd ever knowingly tried. The wine was a hit though, and I'd certainly try it again, although I'd like to be better prepared.

Spinsanti Palma Carola Chardonnay 2005

Another day, another Chardonnay. This one was another BBR Outlet discount, ��5.20 down from ��7. It's from Mendoza in Argentina and the label tells of the family that emigrated from Italy to Argentina in 1902, planting vineyards just for you.

It's a cheery Chardonnay with a Goldilocks quantity of oak, not overwhelming, just enough to add some vanilla. The tropical fruitiness has a chance to shine. It's not an outstanding wine, nor a bad one, it's good quality mid-week drinking. I'd have it again, but I wouldn't seek it out, there's plenty of different choices out there for me.

Domaine du Colombier Petit Chablis

I've had visitors over from the colonies, so I've been drinking a lot of French wine, with Chablis being a particular favourite. We've had some lovely wines, but as the dollar price is calculated 'sticker shock' is evident. Chablis isn't cheap chardonnay, but it's often reasonable value if you really love the style.

We tried a Domaine du Colombier 2005 Petit Chablis, the idea being that Petit Chablis is usually cheaper than its straight Chablis neighbours. This one was even cheaper, it started life at ��9.50, and was now ��6.95 with a discount from the BBR Outlet because it's ready to drink right now.

If we'd tried it as a random French chardonnay on an ordinary weeknight it would have stood up well. It has a lemony, minerally character, with medium body and alcohol. It's at it's best with food when its fruitiness comes through. Unfortunately this wasn't just a random choice, we've been drinking the real deal, even with the odd Premier Cru thrown in.

It tasted cheaper, thinner, not as bold, not as balanced or integrated. It was a nice chardonnay, but at this price point there's lots nicer from Burgundy, from France in general as well as the rest of the world. It was a false economy.

Leapfrögmilch - weird fun

The new series of Dr Who launched last night. We celebrated with a dalek cake and a bottle of 2005 Leapfr��gmilch from Frog's Leap in California. I'd spotted it in the bargain bucket at Berry Brothers and Rudd outlet store and it made me smile, the reduced price of ��10 rather than the retail cost of ��15 wasn't exactly giving it away but I couldn't resist.

The wine was strange. I guess that's not a shock, the vineyards are on an old frog farm. I didn't know you could farm frogs, but I suppose it makes sense.

It's a Riesling Chadonnay mix, not one I've knowingly tried before. At first it seemed confused with a sherbet effect mixed with oiliness, but that settled down into a lovely peach and grapefruit zippiness, a wet peeble mineraliness and a a paraffin, well, Rieslinginess.

For a wine that's bottled and packaged as either a joke on or a tribute to Leibfraumilch and the Blue Nun, this is a serious wine, and I'd definitely try it again

Mâcon-La Roche Vineuse Vieilles Vignes 2003

We had a bottle of 2003 M��con-La Roche Vineuse, Vieilles Vignes (which means old vines, if you're interested in that sort of thing) at the weekend.

There was a slight presentational screw up as the fancy 'rabbit' corkscrew device pushed the cork into the bottle, with a degree of style and grace. We served it in a pottery jug which worked out well to make the wine look like that served in a French neighbourhood restaurant. It also meant that people at the table wanted to try the 'blind tasting guessing game'.

Unfortunately for the game, this wasn't a tough challenge. If you wanted to give someone a glass of Chardonnay, this would be it. It was a rich, pure fruit blend of lemons, melons (which is an anagram of lemons, so they go together really well) and peach whizzed together.

It was good value at just under ��7 from Berry Bros & Rudd's Outlet store, a ��3 saving on retail. I guess that was because it's now ready to drink and approaching its peak. They are currently selling the 2006 for drinking in 2010.

Chablis Séguinot-Bordet

Another day another cathedral related board game. This time is was Notre Dame, and the objective was to gain prestige and keep your Parisian corner free of rats. We seemed pretty rat free so were able to focus on finer things. We had a 2005 Chablis, Domaine S��guinot-Bordet from Berry Bros & Rudd.

A clear bright lemon gold it had plenty of fruity aromas. There was lemon and peach, as well as a welcome squirt of melon. It was bone dry with a crisp, mineral acidity which suited the wine. Medium bodied with medium alcohol the fruit dominated, but was cut nicely with a little steely minerality.

I picked this bottle up from Berry Bros outlet, saving myself almost three quid from the ��11 asking price. I'd happily pay ��11 for it, but it tasted just that little bit better knowing it was on sale.

Bales' Choice - The White Stuff

We had a bottle of Bales' Choice 'The White Stuff' 2006 with a game of Twilight Struggle. It was OK. It tasted like a blended white wine, nothing exciting, nothing unpleasant, nothing memorable. It was 50% Chenin Blanc with 35% Chardonnay and 15% Sauvignon Blanc. It came from South Africa. In South Africa I'm sure it would be a really good, well priced, locally produced wine.

It's bright and fresh with good acidity and a mix of cheery melon and chopped fruit.

Here in England that seems a long way for a wine to come to be 'pleasant enough'. We can get those wines from the Loire Valley, a Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France would do the same job without a 5,500 mile trip. There's no good reason for people in South Africa to drink VdP when they can buy perfectly pleasant wines grown and produced locally. The Loire isn't exactly local, but at only 500 miles away it's close enough.

Lindauer Brut NV - Affordabubble

Coventry City have a new manager, Chris Coleman. I couldn't lay my hands on any Welsh wine, and Champagne seemed (and proved) to be over-optimistic, so opted for Lindauer Brut NV from New Zealand to celebrate his first win with the Sky Blues.

It's a golden yellow with fine, persistent bubbles and a bright citrus scent with light yeastiness. It's dry with a crisp acidity and has a medium body and flavour intensity. The mousse feels lively in the mouth. The citrus is joined by apple and fresh bread. It was a cheerfully assertive taste which finishes with crisp green apple.

Lindauer is made in the traditional Champagne style, mostly from the traditional Champagne grapes with a little Chenin Blanc. It isn't Champagne, and it lacks the rich biscuity character you might expect from one. However, it comes with one major advantage. It costs £6-8 and is reliably good. It may not compete with a good Champagne on flavour, but it certainly holds its own against 'bargain' Champagnes at double the price.

Lasseter's Reef - Good with neighbours

When a bottle of Lasseter's Reef Verdelho Chardonnay 2005 arrived in a mixed case, the primary reaction was - "Hey, cool, Lassiters, it's probably the wine the serve at the hotel in Neighbours". That's quite a sad admission, but as Neighbours moves from the BBC to commercial TV advertisers will be happy to know that the reaction was universal across a wide range of demographic groups - even people who didn't realise that Ugly Betty's boss' dad was Kylie Minogue's father-in-law!

The wine itself was a warm yellow gold. It smelled fruity, with pineapple being the most distinct aroma. Just dry, but with a fruity sweetness, it had just enough acidity. Reasonably full bodied, the bottle claimed 13% alcohol but it felt slightly higher. The pineapple flavour became more dilute in the mouth, to more of a fruit salad and boiled sweet taste with a slight butteriness.

This wine was an interesting alternative to Chardonnay, and easy drinking. It's reasonable value at ��5-6 but not one I'll be searching out.

Tabali Chardonnay - Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

Yesterday was a good day, City made it past Milwall to the 5th round of the FA Cup and Havant & Waterlooville put up a fine performance against Liverpool to keep cup neutrals everywhere happy.

We had a Tabali Reserva Especial 2004 Chardonnay from Limau Valley in Chile, which kept the good mood rolling. It was a cheery sunshine yellow with strong legs and an intense aroma of toasted oak, freshly squeezed lemon and limes and creamy butter. The label claims the vineyard is on the edge of the 'Enchanted Valley' which left me with an image of happy little elves tending the vines, but I suspect production is a little more mechanical. The vineyards are, more prosaically just north of the other Santiago.

Dry with just enough acidity to balance the creamy oak, the citrus character softened a little in the mouth and honey flavours emerged. It had a mouth filling body, and with 13.5% alcohol was perfect for sipping slowly all evening. The flavour stuck around long enough to mean that whilst the next sip was appealing it wasn't needed in a rush.

Expect to pay around £9-10, and expect to feel that you've enjoyed good value.

McManis Chardonnay - Family Style

I recently took an unplanned trip to the US, and arrived dazed and confused, having a few things to do before I was driven to the house of people I didn't know for dinner. I was made to feel hugely welcome and then offered food, lots of food. Several bowls of appetisers were passed around as I tried to stay awake drinking water.

With dinner I was given wine, a McManis Family Vineyards 2005 Chardonnay. It's never wise to drink when you're really tired, you have no idea what time it is and you've been awake 24 hours, but my hosts were insistent that I ate, drank and laughed with them. More bowls of food were passed around and I felt relaxed as they shared the latest news on family members I didn't know, dishing the gossip and apologising for the weirdness of their relatives. It's always comforting to know that other peoples families are just as dysfunctional as your own.

I retreated into the wine. It was a cheery sunshine yellow. It smelled strange and it took me a while to work out why. It smelled like a lumberjack's dog had fallen in a pond then rolled in woodchips to try off, though not in an entirely unpleasant way. It was dry with a medium acidity. The new oak flavour dominated, but there was lots of cinder toffee and butter. There was fruit too, a sweet fruit salad blend.

It was strange but not unpleasant, by my second glass I'd learned to like it. I had a few more on my trip, it seems Meijer had it on sale so people had stocked up.

Givry Premier Cru

I recently had a house guest who loves Pinot Grigio. Just Pinot Grigio, nothing else, and I hadn't got any. I opted for this Givry 1er Cru Blanc 2003 Les Petits Buis as I thought it was likely to be the most acceptable of what was available.

It was a good choice. Dry, crisp and bright, with a clean aroma. It smelled of fresh fruit salad with a hint of nuttiness and cinnamon, which was strange but good. It was pretty fruity, with melon and red apple (not a good description, but a mature, sweet apple, not like a green one!).

Despite being almost, but not completely exactly unlike Pinot Grigio, the wine went down well, receiving a thumbs up. Then there was the pesky moment when I explained it was Chardonnay - a surprise, but one that may have opened up a new, and slightly more expensive interest in wine.

Pouilly-Vinzelles - Paradise?

Having polished off all the Louis Latour M��con-Lugny in the house we opted to try a Louis Latour Pouilly-Vinzelles 'En Paradis' 2005 which looked similar (!) and was about a quid more expensive, so I was looking forward to it.

It's pale, with a light aroma of underripe apricot and some blossom. It's dry with a crisp acidity and medium body. It fell down a little in the flavour department. I was expecting good things but there wasn't a lot of flavour intensity. A little pineapple lurked in there, with a little buttered toast, but it was well diluted, lacking the concentration I'd enjoyed from its cheaper Burgundian neighbour.

Save yourself a pound or two and choose the Macon-Lugny from Majestic instead.

Chablis Saint Martin - Wine at Malmaison

I've just come back from a Christmas jolly at Malmaison in Birmingham. Malmaison is part of the same group as Hotel du Vin, so has an impressive wine list which borders on overwhelming. We had a Michel Laroche Chablis St Martin , I cycled the Way of Saint Martin, and this wine was made on the grounds of an old Monastery named in his honour, so it made me happy.

It was a lemon colour with just a little green. It smelled minerally with green apples. It was bone dry with a crisp acidity. The flinty minerals and apples continued with just a touch of butteriness and nuts on the finish. A nice Chablis.

Expect to pay £10 in the high street, triple that in a restaurant.

Running out of Macon Lugny

With Christmas fast approaching I was shopping for wine, and picked up a selection for assorted festive needs. Two nice people loaded up the car for me.

We tried out a bottle from the haul with a fish pie. It was a Louis Latour M��con-Lugny 2006. A bright, pale lemon with a touch of green. It smelled fresh and crisp with apple and something not quite liquorice, not quite quince but really inviting. Bone dry and crisply acidic it was refreshingly clean. Apples and a little lemon joined the not-quite identified slightly spicy taste with some soft malolactic butteriness. It worked really well.

At ��7-8 a bottle this is good value chardonnay from Burgundy, but with the latest offer at Majestic it's ��5 on multi-buy. I'm really glad, as we've already worked our way through the Christmas dinner allowance. Stock up whilst it's on sale.

Au Bon Climat – Well exposed

This weekend Coventry City managed to dodge administration meaning a ten point deduction, a likely player exodus and relegation from the Championship. Dodgy dealing has seen chairmen come and go, and as the full horror of the ��38m debt was revealed Joe Elliott, retired Coventry car accessories magnate (!) was left holding the baby. The deal was signed with just 40 minutes to spare before the bank pulled the plug, making Joe a local hero.

We raised a glass to celebrate the takeover, despite the worries about where it will take us. Au Bon Climat ��� meaning ���well exposed vineyard���, seemed like a sensible choice. We chose Au Bon Climat Chardonnay, 2000 from Santa Ynez Valley.

It smelled rich, oaky and with butterscotch sweetness. Dry with medium acidity the rich, toasty oak dominated, but allowed some caramelized hazelnuts and some melon goodness through, although the fruit felt like it was starting to fade. It was full bodied and stood up well to a rich risotto.

Expect to pay about ��17 a bottle ��� pretty steep really, however this wine compares more realistically to a Burgundy rather than a typical Californian chardonnay.

Let���s all sing together ��� Play up Sky Blues!

The stuff of dreams

I bought a football club today, well, a piece of one. MyFootballClub agreed to buy Ebbsfleet, a Conference side with prospects. They aren't terribly local to me. I've only been to Gravesend once, to marshal the Tour de France. Owning a football club is often a sign of obsessed passion, but as I own less than 1/20,000th at the moment, I can afford to lose my stake.

Obsessed passion isn't always a bad thing. Claude Calix sold his house and lived in a caravan so that he could establish his own winery. His passion shows through in La Croix des Cabustines Chardonnay 2005. It's a pale gold with strong legs and a rich scent of creamy vanilla and ripe pineapple. Just off dry with a zippy acidity it tastes of toffee apples and cinnamon. The flavour carries on and develops with good fruit and spice.

It tastes noticeably more luxurious than the ��5.50 price tag at Laithwaites, making it a great midweek treat.

A Flurry of Fetzer

I found myself with hours to spare at the airport so settled myself into the lounge amongst assorted business types getting quietly toasted. One thing I have learned is that getting drunk on, or before, a transatlantic flight is a very bad idea - dehydration, disorientation and jet lag are all made much worse by a second drink.

But I was bored, I'd eaten my own body weight in carrot sticks and was awash with club soda and juice. There were three wine choices available so rather than make a decision I took a tasting pour of all three and settled myself down in front of an American football game. I know the Detroit Lions weren't in it, but found it difficult to care who was in between the adverts.

The three wines were all Fetzer Valley Oaks 2005 vintage varietals from California. There was a Chardonnay, a Merlot, and a Cabernet Sauvignon. The Chardonnay was probably best summed up as 'blah'. It was nice enough, a little over oaked, a little flabbly, a little too much residual sugar and some generic fruitiness. It seemed designed not not offend.

The Merlot was better in a very American market way. Big and fruity with lots of plum and cherry and just a little earthiness, sweet oak and very little tannin, it was smooth and easy drinking with no rough edges. The Cabernet was another middle of the road choice, a little sharper with more black fruit and a lttle more herby mintiness, again it felt like it had been developed after months of consumer focus groups to be a big seller at Costco.

For wine destined to be consumed by weary travellers who just want to relax, or build up some Dutch courage (what do they call it in the Netherlands?) these inoffensive wines are a safe choice.